My Walls Come Tumbling Down
by dauntlessreader
Summary: Max Martinez is the new girl at her school with walls built up around her feelings due to the people back in Virginia. Being a military brat does suck sometimes, believe it or not. But maybe this move to Arizona will be different. Maybe it's the mysterious dark-haired guy in all her classes with the attitude. Will Max let the new kid in and break down her walls? FAX FAX FAX
1. Chapter 1

_**Yay! A new story! I think you guys will like this one better than my other one. Just saying. I got the idea for this story when I found out that I would be moving again due to the military. A lot of this is true for a lot of military brats. Anyway, on with the new story!**_

_**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MAXIMUM RIDE**_

I can't believe this is happening. We were moving. Again. You see, my mom is in the military, so that means that we have to move around a lot. I've been moving since I was an infant. We have been to so many different places, I've lost count. My mom told me that when we moved to Virginia it was our last move. Yet, here we are, driving to Arizona where I will be attending a new school in the middle of the school year. Believe me, being a military brat is pretty cool. I mean, all the different places you get to see. The only down side is that we have to move around all the time. You can't have any strong bonds with people because you never know when one of you will ending up moving across the country, maybe the world. _**(Very true, my friend Alex moved to South Korea last summer.) **_The only difference between this move and all the other ones: We wouldn't be living on an army post. So that means none of the kids at my school will know what it's like. Great. Note the sarcasm.

Back in Virginia I had a boyfriend, his name was Sam. I thought I was in love with him. Until I caught him playing tonsil hockey with the school slut, Lissa. I was definitely excited to leave him behind. What I wasn't excited to leave behind: My best friend, Logan. We did everything together. We met when I first moved to Virginia in the 7th grade. Sweetest kid I have ever met. We were inseparable. At the time I thought we weren't leaving again. He already knew they weren't. Then 3 years later my mom told me to pack up my room because we were moving across the country, again. When I told Logan, he called me a liar and slammed the door in my face. I haven't talked to him since. A pretty shitty good - bye right? It doesn't matter though because this move is going to be a new start for me. It's gonna suck without having my best friend here, but whatever. Bottom line is, my first day of school is tomorrow. As if things couldn't get any worse.

_**So, I guess you could say this was more of a prologue kind of chapter. Not a whole lot but it's the start. I hope you guys liked it. Sorry it's so ridiculously short. Next chapter is going to be longer for sure. But R&amp;R anyway!**_

_**~DauntlessReader**_


	2. Chapter 2

"You can't make me go." I whine as my mother pulls up to my new Hell, high school in the middle of March, and it's a Friday. At least I have the weekend ahead of me.

"Yes, I can." She says as she puts the car into park.

"But Mom!"

"I don't want to hear it." I lean forward and give my mom a kiss on the cheek before opening the door. I turn and look at her. "Do I –"

I don't even finish before she interrupts. "Just go!" She says, laughing, as she softly shoves me out the door with one camouflaged arm. I groan and step out of the car, shutting the door behind me. "I love you. Have a good day!" She says out the window. I ignore her and make a scene of dramatically trudging up to the doors and swinging them open, knowing she is still watching from the car. I can practically feel her shaking her head at me.

I walk through the halls into the office. An older African American woman with glasses greets me at the desk.

"Hi, I'm a new student." I say kindly.

"Oh! You must be Max. It's rare there are ever new students around here. Everybody has been talking about the new student. So, here is a map of the school and your schedule." She says as she gathers a few things and hands them to me. "If you would like, I can call your first period teacher and have them send a student down to give you a tour of the school, show you your classes, and what not."

"That would be great, actually. Thank you." I say.

"Okay, you can have a seat while I call down to Mr. Anderson."

I move over to the small chairs lined against the wall. I sit quietly and wait. A few minutes pass before a short African – American girl walks in. "Hi, Ms. Duff! Mr. Anderson sent me to pick up the new student."

"She is right over there. Come on over, baby." I stand from my seat and grab my back.

"Hi, I'm Max." I say reaching out my hand to the girl.

"I'm Monique! But everyone calls me Nudge." She says as she shakes my hand. "I don't exactly know why. My friend started calling me that one day and it just sorta stuck. Her name is Ella. You'll really like her. Well, I can show you around the school and then I can take you to your classes that we have together. Can I see your schedule?" I just stare at her wide-eyed for a moment. She said all that in one breath. I give her my schedule and she looks it over. "We only have a few classes together, but you have all the same classes as Fang so I'm sure he could show you around. Come on, I'll show you your locker."

* * *

About an hour has passed when we finally finish the tour. And not just because Nudge is a talker. The school is actually larger than I thought it was. I can guarantee that I will end up lost in the halls at least once. Probably twice.

The bell rings loudly through the halls causing me to jump. "Well, it's lunch now so you can sit with me and my friends if you want. I wouldn't want you to feel left out. I know I would hate to sit by myself on my first day of school when it's the middle of March." Nudge keeps talking through the halls as we make our way to the cafeteria. I am only half listening because she is talking too fast for me to catch everything she is saying.

We arrive in the cafeteria and Nudge takes me through the lunch line explaining a bunch of things to me. She then takes me to a table where five other kids are seated. One is a short and Hispanic looking girl with long dark brown, but not quite black, hair. Another is a girl with bleach blonde hair. Sitting next to the Hispanic girl is a tall skinny guy with strawberry blonde hair. On the other side of the table is a short, buff boy with blonde hair on the top of his head. He looks like he is the blonde's brother. And then there was a guy sitting on the end of the table with dark black hair. It was kinda long but not long enough where it was a little weird. It looked good on him. He had olive toned skin and dark brown eyes that were almost black. He was wearing a lot of black clothes. I'm sort of getting an emo feeling from this kid.

"Hey guys!" Nudge says as we get to the table. "This is Max, the new girl. Max, you can sit next to Fang."

The dark haired guy nods at me so I'm guessing he's Fang. I walk over and set my stuff down so that I can sit down. As soon as I sit my butt on the bench Nudge starts talking, pointing out who's who at the table.

"So this is Ella. The friend I was telling you about." She says pointing to the Hispanic girl. "Iggy." Pointing to the strawberry blonde next to Ella. "Angel and Gazzy. They're brother and sister." Pointing to the blonde girl and blonde buff kid next to Fang. "And then Fang. He doesn't talk much. So if he doesn't say a whole lot to you, don't take it personally."

"So, Max," Iggy starts talking to me, but he's not exactly looking at me, more my shoulder. "Where did you move here from?"

"Fort Belvoir, Virginia." I say as I pick at the fries on my tray.

"Oh, an army base?"

"Yeah, my mom is in the military so moving is sort of our thing I guess."

"How many times have you moved?" Ella asks.

"I honestly don't know. I can name some of them but a lot are from when I was younger so I don't exactly remember them."

"Well then which is your favorite?" Angel says.

"Germany. Definitely one of the best moves." (_**My cousin is stationed in Germany and loves it there!)**_

"I would love to go to Germany!" Ella says.

"It was pretty cool."

"Where else have you been?" Nudge asks.

"Um, New York, Washington State, Kentucky, Alabama, South Carolina, West Virginia, Virginia, California, Texas. A lot."

"Wow. You really do get to places." Iggy says, still looking at my shoulder.

"Yeah, but it's not as fun as you think."

"Why?" Gazzy asks.

"Because you can't build strong bonds with anybody because you never know when one of you will be leaving. You could find your best friend in the whole world and then find out you have to PCS is 3 months to somewhere across the country, or the world."

"World?" Nudge asks.

"Yeah. Definitely. I mean, there's Germany. That's not too far. But, I did have one friend who moved to South Korea a few years ago."

"Wow."

"I know. It sucks sometimes. But my mom says this is our last move. I don't exactly believe her because that's what she said when we got to Virginia."

"Well, I hope you don't leave anytime soon. You're going to love it here. There's so much to do. I mean all of us could take trips to California on the weekends if we want."

"What rank is your mom?" I hear from beside me. I turn and see Fang looking at me.

"Uh, E8."

He doesn't say anything back, just turns back to his tray of untouched food. Okay then.

"Oh, Fang," Nudge says. "I was wondering if you could show Max to the rest of her classes because I don't have any other classes with her."

"And you think I do?" Well, someone has an attitude…

"No, I know you do. You guys have all the same classes. I only have 1st and 2nd with her. So, I figured you wouldn't mind showing her to the classes."

"Sure, whatever." He says sounding annoyed. Now I'm irritated. I don't even know why. He's just so – UGH!

"I'm sorry, but did I do something to bother you?" I turn and look at him with a glare on my face.

He slowly looks up from his tray and turns to face me. He stares at me for a moment, then gets up and leaves.

"Wow," Iggy says. "I'm sensing that he is either glaring at you or got up and left."

"He got up and left. Did you not see it? Are you blind?" I don't mean to say it the way I do, I don't even mean to say it at all. I'm just so irritated it came out before I thought about it.

He stares in my direction for a moment before speaking to my forehead. "Yeah, I am. Sorry to bother you with my handicap. It was really nice meeting you." He says, sarcasm coating his words. "Ya know what? I should leave and find out what got Fang so pissed, although I probably already know." He glares at me as he gets up and leaves the cafeteria, following the same path as Fang.

It's my first day and I've already got two people hating me. Wonderful.

"I should…" Gazzy says as he gets up and follows Iggy. Now it's just me and the girls.

"Um, I can show you your classes." Ella says quietly.

"No, don't worry about it. I can do it myself." I say as I get up, dump my tray, grab my bag and leave the cafeteria, making sure when I open the doors that everybody hears me slam them.

* * *

My mom is waiting outside at the end of the day. As I getting the car she asks how my first day was. "Just drive." I say, turning my head and looking out the window. My mom doesn't say another word the whole ride home.

When we arrive at our new house I go straight to my room and shut the door, throwing my bag to the floor next to some unpacked boxes. I lay on my bed and stare at the ceiling. I don't come out until dinner.

_**Hope you guys liked this one. Don't worry, we'll find out about Fang a little later. I noticed Max was kinda bitchy in this. Totally didn't mean for that to happen... Anyway, R&amp;R!**_

_**~DauntlessReader**_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It's Saturday. That means I don't have to see Fang and Iggy. Thank God. I didn't mean to be a bitch or anything yesterday, Fang just got on my nerves, hating me for no reason. But now Iggy hates me and he has a reason to. I wish I could apologize but I don't know where any of them live or anything.

"Max!" My mom calls up to me from the bottom of the stairs since I have yet to get out of my bed. I groan and roll over to look at my phone. 11:30. Ugh. I sit up in bed and scream down to my mom. "What?"

"We have to finish unpacking today. Let's go! Get out of bed!"

"Alright! I'll be down in a minute." I get out of my bed and go over to my suitcase. I pull out a raggedy old t-shirt, some holy jeans, socks, a bra, and a pair of underwear. I change, run my toothbrush through my mouth and pull my hair into a bun. As I am jogging down the stairs our doorbell rings.

"I got it!" I tell my mom. I go over to the door and open only to be met by Fang, Nudge, and Iggy. "How did you guys know where I live?"

Nudge stares at me for a minute then says, "Our mom told us to come meet the new neighbors. I guess that's you and your mom. Which is totally cool. This is going to be so fun! I can't-"

"Woah," I interrupt her. "Don't you guys hate me? I was a bitch to you guys yesterday."

"Max!" My mom calls. "Who's at the door?"

"Just our neighbors, Mom!" I hear my mom walking out of the kitchen and to the door. "Hi. I'm Adriana." She says, extending her hand to Nudge.

"Nudge." She responds shaking my mother's hand. "These are my brothers, Fang and Iggy."

Fang nods to my mom as Iggy says hey looking a little to the left of my mom's face. "Would you guys like to come in? I have some iced tea in the fridge."

"Mom." I say looking at her.

"What?"

"Um, sure." Nudge says. My mom moves out the door way so they can come inside. Nudge steps through, followed by Iggy, then Fang who is staring at me intently. It's almost like he is studying me. I blush as I turn and close the door behind him.

They follow my mom into the kitchen who pulls out a pitcher of iced tea from the fridge. "I'm sorry there are no chairs for you to sit on," my mom says. "We haven't quite finished unpacking yet."

"Oh, it's fine." Nudge says. "So, you're in the military?"

"Oh, yeah. I guess Max told you?" Nudge nods in response. Nudge and my mom then become engrossed in a conversation about varying topics. I take the chance and pull the boys aside.

"Hey, Iggy. Fang." They both look up at me. "Can I talk to you guys? Alone." They both set down their glasses and follow me into the living room.

"So, about yesterday-"But Iggy interrupts me before I can finish.

"It's fine. Forget it. I already did. What you said was totally okay."

"No, it wasn't."

"It doesn't matter. I was having a bad day yesterday anyway. I totally forgive you. But I do ask that you don't treat me any differently because I'm blind. I'm actually really bad at being blind. Sometimes people can't even tell because I'm so independent about it."

"Alright. Um, Fang. I'm sorry if I did anything wrong yesterday. I didn't mean to make you mad in anyway. I just felt like I was making a horrible first impression because it seemed like I pissed you off in some way. And, I'm sorry."

"It's cool." He says. But he still seems kind of upset. I wonder if military is a sensitive subject for him…

"Not much of talker, are you?" he smirks at me and shakes his head. "Well, that's going to change soon. I can guarantee that. So, all three of you live together?"

"Yeah," Iggy tells me. "We're foster kids. Valencia is really cool though so it's not like it sucks or anything."

"Oh," I honestly don't know what to say. "Yeah, my dad isn't around. And I don't have any siblings." _Anymore, _I think to myself. "So it's just me and my mom here in this big house."

"Do you want help unpacking?" Iggy asks.

"Oh, you guys don't-"Iggy doesn't let me finish.

"Please, as an apology for being so pissy yesterday. It would be our pleasure."

"Um, sure, I guess. If you guys really want to." I walk out of the living room and into the kitchen. My mom and Nudge are still talking. "Hey, Mom? The boys are going to help unpack if you don't mind."

"Ok, do you want to take one of them upstairs to help with your room and have another help with the kitchen? We still have a lot for the kitchen."

"Sure. Hey," I say turning to Fang and Iggy. "Fang, you're helping with my room. Iggy you're going to help with the kitchen because there is a lot to do down here." Iggy fake salutes me and I roll my eyes then realize he can't see it. "I rolled my eyes, Iggy."

I take Fang upstairs with me and show him to my room. "Ok, so you can start with those over there." I tell him, pointing to a stack of boxes up against the wall. He nods at me in response.

I walk over to a stack near my closet. "So, you gonna tell me why you got mad yesterday or am I going to have to figure it out myself?"

Fang grabs the box cutter from my desk as I use a scissors to open my box. He's quiet for a moment, but when he speaks, it's so low I barely hear it myself.

"I used to be like you, you know. A military brat. It was just me and my mom. My dad abandoned us for another woman when I was 2. My mom was already in the army. She had enlisted right after she got pregnant with me. When I was about 8, she was deployed to Afghanistan. I was living with my grandmother while she was gone. She was gone for about a year and a half before she finally came back. My grandmother passed while she was home, so I had a couple extra months with her before she was deploying again. My mom had me live with a family friend. She was gone for 3 months when we were told she was killed in action. I had no one so they put me into the system at the age of 10. I was in and out of homes for about 4 years. At 14, they put me in with Iggy and Nudge and the other kids living with us. I love it there. They adopted me about a year and a half ago. I got upset yesterday because my mom was an E8 when she died. I've never thought of the military the same way."

I'm quiet for a minute. I have no idea what to say. I don't know what it's like for a parent to be deployed. I've heard it sucks. I should probably tell him what happened to my older sibling…

"I was 9 when my big brother died." We aren't looking at each other, but I can tell he turned his head slightly in my direction. "He was 17. There were a lot of issues with him. Depression. Anxiety. Suicidal. And so much more. I guess one day it became too much to handle. My dad was constantly pushing him to be the best. But, what he didn't know was the kids at school were really mean. Always picking on him. Always finding some flaw to point out. He came home one day. I was still at school. Sometimes I wish he could have said something. Waited until I came home to say goodbye. But, when I came home the house was quiet. I opened the door and went upstairs, asking for him. 'Ari? Ari?' But he never replied. I figured he was taking a nap or something. The bathroom door was closed. I knocked and he didn't say anything so I knocked again. 'Ari? Ari, open up.' I tried to open the door but it was locked. I just went into my bedroom. I was there for an hour and he still hadn't come out. I decided to call my mom. I told her that Ari was in the bathroom and wouldn't come out. That he wasn't replying to me. She told me to call 911 have them send an ambulance. I did. They got there right before my mom did. She came in the door just in time to see him being wheeled out in a body bag. They said he had slit his wrists in the bath tub. My dad packed up and left a few weeks later. He and my mom were always fighting over what happened. My mom was a wreck and my dad didn't seem to care about what happened. He used to say that he did what he did because he deserved it, that he made the right decision, that he was a screw-up. My mom kicked him out. The next day, while I was at school and my mom was at work, he came by the house and packed up all of his crap and left. I haven't seen him since."

I'm quiet for a moment when I realize that I have a tear rolling down my cheek. I notice that Fang isn't unpacking anymore, he's staring at me, I can feel his eyes boring into my back. "But, it's whatever. Everyone goes through loss, right? Death is but the next great adventure. _**(Hehe, Dumbledore quote)**_"

"It's not whatever." Fang says, coming up behind me. "When you lose someone close to you, it does matter. You can't just act like it doesn't because you don't want to seem weak. You want to seem like nothing can hurt you. That nothing can break you. You want walls built around you so you're safe from the hurt and the pain. And it's hard. God, it's hard. But, you have to let them down eventually. Even if you need someone to break them down for you." He's right behind me now, his mouth next to my ear. I turn around and wrap my arms around him. He stiffens for a moment then hugs me back, his arms going around my waist.

"Thank you," I whisper into his chest. "Thank you."

"I will always be here for you," he whispers back, into my hair. "Always."

And in that moment, I realize that everything is going to be okay. That everything will be wonderful someday.


	4. Chapter 4

We stand in the middle of my room hugging for a minute. I don't exactly know how it happened but when we pulled away our eyes locked. I couldn't help but get lost in the black holes he has for eyes. He starts to lean forward, his eyes trained on my lips. I'm frozen in place. It isn't until I feel his warm breath on my mouth that I realize what is happening. I slowly pull away mumbling.

"We should finish unpacking." He just nods mutely in response.

* * *

A few short hours later, my room is set up the way I want it. My books are in the bookshelf, my clothes in the dresser and closet, and everything else in its proper place. But I don't like the walls. All plain and white and shit. (Pardon my language)

"We could probably paint the walls next weekend or something." I say looking at the wall in front of me.

"Yeah," Fang says, joining me in front of the wall. "The white is kind of dull."

We continue to stare at the wall in silence until my mom calls up to us. "Max, Fang! Come down here!"

We turn from the wall and jog down the stairs. "Yeah, Mom?"

"Why don't you guys stay for dinner. You can invite your mom over too. We can order pizza and talk, get to know each other."

"Mom-" I start but Iggy interrupts me, again.

"That sounds wonderful, Mrs. Martinez."

"Please, call me Adriana. Mrs. Martinez makes me feel old."

"Awesome, we'll go get our moms and siblings." Nudge says already racing to the door. Iggy following suit. Fang goes to follow but Iggy senses it. "Fang, you can stay behind. If all three of us go it will seem like we did something wrong."

"But-" Fang starts but Iggy is already racing out the door.

"Bye! See you guys in a few minutes!" Fang and I stare at the door in shock. My mom laughs.

"I'll go order the pizza. Fang, do you know how many I should order?"

"4 or 5 should be enough." Fang replies.

"Alright. I'll go do that." My mom leaves the room so it's just Fang and I standing in the entryway now.

"Well, we could go up to my room and talk if you want." I say turning to Fang. He nods in response. God, he needs to talk more. We walk up the stairs to my room.

I collapse on my bed, my head hanging from the bottom edge. Fang chuckles as he goes and sits in my desk chair. Now that just won't do.

"Nope," I say. "If we are going to get to know each other more you have to lay next to me in the exact same position. It stimulates blood flow to the brain."

Fang gets up and lays down next to me, his head hanging off the edge.

"Okay," I say, staring at my bedroom door. "We are going to play 20 questions. I ask you a question, you ask me one. Sound good?"

"Sure."

"Okay, favorite color? Mine is purple." I say.

"Black. Favorite food? Mine is lasagna." He responds reaching his arms back so they hang off the edge as well.

"Lasagna? Okay. Tortilla chips. Favorite movie? Mine is _My Week with Marilyn_."

"_Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close_. Favorite book? Mine is _Hunger Games_."

"That's a very cruel question. You can't seriously expect me to pick favorites from my babies." I say turning and looking at my very full book shelf and frowning slightly.

"Yes, I can. Now just pick one. It doesn't have to be your absolute favorite. Just one you really liked."

"Okay. Fine. _The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight_ I guess."

"Wow. Long title." Fang says smirking at my ceiling.

"Oh shut up." I say, laughing slightly. "Now, a hobby. I like photography and reading."

"Um, I don't really have any."

"C'mon. There has to be something. Reading? Playing an instrument? Anything?"

"Well, I play piano." I sit up and look over at him in shock. "What?"

"Piano? Really?" I say.

"Yeah, really. Is it that hard to believe?"

"Actually, yes. Are you any good?"

Fang smirks up at me. "I'm pretty good I guess."

"You have to play for me." I say getting off the bed.

"How? You don't have piano." Fang says, getting off the bed and following me out of the room.

"Sure I do. I play a little, too. I'm only a beginner though. C'mon. It's downstairs."

We walk down to the living room and over to the piano sitting in the corner. It's a big grand so the seat can fit both of us. I slide up the cover and test a few keys to make sure it wasn't broken in the move. Fang sits down next to me.

"What do you want me to play?"

"Your favorite piece. Do you need the sheet music?"

"No, I know most songs by memory." I sit and wait expectantly as he places his fingers on the keys.

He then begins to play _Prelude No. 1 in C Major _by Bach. I've heard it played before but he plays it beautifully. I stare in awe as his fingers move expertly across the keys. When he finishes I can't help but stare.

"That was so beautiful." I say quietly. I'm actually kind of jealous of how good he is.

"Alright," He says. "Your turn."

"Okay." I turn to the keys and lay them down on the keys. Then I start to play Stay With Me by Sam Smith. I slip up a few times knowing that he is watching each of my fingers move across the keys. But all in all, I think I did better than I did the last time I played a few weeks ago. When I finish, Fang stares at me.

"What?" I ask.

"Nothing, it's just I can't play music like that. Popular things you hear on the radio every now and then. I wish I could."

"Well, I can't exactly play classical. The best I got is like 5 measures of Fur Elise by Beethoven." Fang laughs lightly.

"Well, what do you say that I teach you classical and you can teach me Sam Smith and pop?" He says, looking at me. His eyes are staring into mine.

"I think that's a great idea." I say smiling slightly. For some reason we seemed to have blocked out the rest of the world while we were playing because there is suddenly a loud commotion in the kitchen. I guess the pizza arrived while we were playing.

"We should go eat." I say getting up from the piano.

"Yeah, I'm kinda hungry."

We walk into the kitchen and I see a woman with long dark hair in a ponytail. I'm guessing it's Fang's foster mom. There are 3 other kids at the table with Nudge and Iggy.

"Hey, Fang!" His mom says.

"Hey, Angelina." Fang says smiling.

"I heard you guys playing in the living room. That piece by Bach is perfect by the way. And I'm guessing you're Max?" She says looking at me.

"Yes, ma'am." I say reaching out and shaking her outstretched hand.

"Oh, just call me Angelina. I hate when people call me ma'am. It makes it sound like I'm some rich important figure. I heard you playing that Sam Smith song. It was gorgeous."

"Thank you." I say, blushing. Fang and I go sit down at the table that Iggy and my mom set up.

We all talk and laugh while we eat dinner. It's been forever since I have done this. And honestly, I wish we could do this every night.

_**Okay, I hope y'all liked this chapter. R&amp;R! Thanks guys! I love you!**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**I apologize for my absence but I am finally moved into my new house and have internet so hopefully I can update more often. I would also like to say that I am considering changing the title of the story but I am not sure as to what I'm going to change it to yet. Anyway, here is chapter 5, I hope you like it. I added some Fax to speed it up. **_

A few weeks pass and Fang and I have grown closer. Every day he comes over after school and teaches me how to play a part of a classical piece called Air on G String by Bach. After teaching me a little bit, I teach him part of Life Support by Sam Smith. I'm a sucker for Sam Smith songs if you haven't noticed. But anyway, things are going great. His family comes over for dinner every Thursday night. It's become a regular thing.

I can't help but notice that he isn't that close with his family. He kind of secludes himself. But I guess I can't really talk because I'm the same way with my mom. I wish there was a way I could get close to him and his family without revealing all of my secrets. When you're raised with a motto like "Army Strong," that's what you have to be. You have to be strong for not only yourself, but your family as well. No exceptions. When my father walked out on me and my mom, I didn't cry. I guess it was because I was raised with military parents constantly telling me to be strong no matter what. I'm getting off topic, nobody cares about this. You guys want to hear about other stuff in my life, not this.

Anyway, today is Saturday. I'm sitting in my room and notice that Fang and I still haven't painted my room. Huh, it could definitely use some color. I pick up my phone and text him.

**To: FANG**

**From: MAX**

_Hey, I'm sitting in my room all by my lonesome and _

_I noticed that we have yet to paint. Why don't you _

_come over and we will buy some paint and take _

_care of the boring white. _

I sit back down on my bed and wait for a reply. It comes pretty quick.

**To: MAX**

**From: FANG**

_Sure, let me just grab some cash. See you in a minute._

I grab some cash from my secret envelope and put it in my wallet. I grab my phone and run down the stairs.

"Mom!" I shout as I jog down the stairs.

"Yeah?!" She screams back from the living room.

"I'm going to Home Depot with Fang to get some paint for my room. We'll be back later."

"Ok, have your phone?"

"Yup!" I shout as I close the door behind me.

I meet Fang in my driveway.

"I hope you can drive." I tell him as I start walking towards him.

"Of course I can. We're taking Angelina's car."

I jog across the lawn and hop in the passenger seat as he gets in the driver seat, turning on the car. We pull out and soon we are on the freeway, racing towards the nearest Home Depot. I turn on the radio because the silence is killing me. I surf through the stations until I find one that is playing a song that I like and begin singing quietly to myself. I turn to my side and see Fang looking at me from the corner of his eye.

"What?" I ask.

"Nothing," he says, turning back to look at the road.

"No, seriously. Why were you staring at me?"

"I wasn't staring." He tells me, flipping on his turn signal to exit.

"Then why did I just catch you looking at me out of the corner of your eye?" I ask, turning in my seat so I'm facing him.

"You have a beautiful voice. That's all." I feel blush rising in my cheeks as I turn and face the window again. We stay silent until we pull into Home Depot.

Fang grabs a cart as we walk in the doors. "So, do you have any ideas as to what color you want?"

"No, just anything but white. Or pink. No pink." I hear him chuckle.

"Well, what are your limitations?" I look at him in confusion. "You know, what can you do to your walls and what can't you do?"

Now that I think about it, I'm not sure. My mom never really said. "I don't know. I don't think I have any."

"Alright then let's get a little of each color. I have an idea that I think you would like."

We spend about a half hour in the paint section and then head over to get plenty of brushes. He has yet to tell me what his grand idea is but it must be good if he is willing to spend so much money on paint and supplies.

We leave the store with about 15 cans of paint and about 30-40 brushes and supplies.

Once we get in the car, I pelt him with questions. "Why did you spend so much on this stuff? What is your planning? My mom is going to kill me if she finds out you spent this much? Are you an artist or something? An expert on painting or some shit? Why are you ignoring me? Don't you dare turn up the radio!" But, of course, he did it anyway.

He continues to ignore me the whole way back to my house. We pull up my driveway and he puts the car in park. He goes around back and lifts out 4 of the 20 bags in the trunk. I toss him the house key and he miraculously catches it with his teeth. He waggles his eyebrows at me from the doorway and I just roll my eyes in his direction. I grab two of the bags and follow him into my house, dropping the bags on my bed before heading back down to finish unloading.

Once we finish unloading the car, I change into some trashy clothes while he runs home and changes as well. He comes back 5 minutes later dressed in a worn t-shirt and ratty jeans. I pull my hair up into a ponytail while he pours the different paints. I kneel down beside him as he pours the last can of paint.

"So, are you gonna tell me what your plan is yet or are you going to continue to leave me in the dark on this?"

He just looks up and smirks at me from where he is stirring the paints. He continues stirring for about 5 minutes before standing up and looking at my walls.

"Okay," he says, looking thoughtfully at the wall where my bed rests. "Let's move your bed to the hallway and into the guestroom. We are then going to use the blue as a base coat for that wall. That's all you get to know for now." He winks at me as he starts moving towards my bed. I roll my eyes and follow him.

I watch as he shifts my bed so that is no longer braced against the wall. I see the muscles in his arms ripple as he shifts it.

"You grab that end and we'll carry it out." I force myself to tear my eyes from his arms and nod my head while walking towards the foot of my bed. I grab the bottom and wait for his cue to lift "Okay, lift." I pick up my end of the bed and lift, using all my strength to bring it only a few inches off of the ground. We carry my bed out of my room and into the spare room next door.

We walk back into my room and begin outlining my window with painter's tape and laying down a tarp so paint doesn't get on the carpet.

"Okay," Fang starts. "So we are going to paint two walls one color and the other two a different color. We'll do that first." I nod in understanding and grab a brush and the can of turquoise while he grabs the can of violet.

We both paint in silence for a few minutes before I decide to put on some music. I put down my brush and walk over to my computer. As I open YouTube, I ask Fang, "Any suggestions?"

He thinks for a minute before telling me to put on Imagine Dragons. I click the video with their whole album and plug in my speaker. _Hopeless Opus _blasts through my bedroom. I go back over to the wall and pick up my brush. I look over at Fang and see that he has gotten a lot done whereas I only have about a 5 inch square complete.

A few more minutes pass before I see that Fang has come over with a new brush to help me with my wall. I turn around to see that the wall is completely purple. I turn back to Fang and see him looking at me. I smile and he smiles back. I take my brush and dip in paint when I get an idea. I smile as I turn back to the wall and act like I'm about to paint a spot when I move farther to the left and run the brush down the side of his face. The shock on his face is hilarious as he slowly turns to face me. I shrug and say, "Oops." I'm expecting him to retaliate by throwing paint at me or something but he doesn't. He just walks over to the opposite side of the room and I think he is leaving and I start throwing apologies when I see him pick up the bucket of violet paint and turn to face me. I realize what he is thinking.

"Fang, no. Stop." I start to back into the wall when he suddenly charges me and dumps the entire bucket over my head. I freeze as the paint drips down my face. I look over at Fang who is laughing to himself. "Oh, it's on." I bolt to the other paint and throw green at him as he throws blue at me. We are both laughing uncontrollably as we throw multiple colors of paint at each other.

At this point he is chasing me around the room with a bucket of orange. I run out of my room laughing and I hear him throw the bucket. Now he is just chasing me down. I run into the kitchen and catch my breath when suddenly he grabs me around the waist and spins me around. He runs back to my room with me in his arms squirming to get away.

He trips over the tarp on my carpet and we fall to the floor, laughing hysterically. Once we recover from our laughter I realize the position we are in. I'm lying on my back and he is above me, my legs on either side of his hips. I begin to blush subconsciously when I notice that he is looking at my lips and leaning in slowly. I don't know anything else to do but lean in as well.

My eyes flutter closed as his lips meet mine softly. Electricity shoots through my body and I immediately want more. I wrap my arms around his neck as he holds my waist. My fingers slip through his dark hair as our lips grow hungry. He bites my lip softly and I moan into the kiss. He takes the opportunity to slip his tongue past my lips, tangling with mine. I tug at his hair and hear him groan. _God, _I think. _That was the sexiest sound I've ever heard. I want to hear it again. _My hormones take over as I wrap my legs around his hips and flip us over so I'm on his lap and kiss him harder. He groans again at the sudden movement.

I'm beginning to run low on oxygen and I think he notices because he breaks away from my lips and moves over to my jaw where he trails kiss down to my neck. He kisses softly down until he finds a spot that makes me moan. He stops at the spot below my ear and sucks softly making me tighten the grip I have on his hair. He groans again and I swear to God I will never get tired of that noise.

It's when he begins to suck harder, making me moan louder, that I realize what is happening. _Holy shit, _I think. _I'm making out with my best friend. _I instantly break away from him and stand up. He's confused at the loss of contact as he stares up at me. I don't know what to do other than say, "I can't," and sprint from my own bedroom. I run down the stairs and into my music room where I sit at my piano and cry.

_**Sorry if the Fax was a little soon, I was growing impatient. Anyway Review please! Oh, I saw Imagine Dragons in concert last month and it was amazing! My great aunt manages the stadium it was in and was able to get us on the floor so I could see Dan Reynolds up close. Go to my Instagram to see photos and videos: (at sign)alabama_bound_**_


End file.
